Memo

TITLE OF BILL: An act to allow Joel Lochner to join the optional twenty year retirement plan, city of Amsterdam, county of Montgomery

PURPOSE:

Authorizes Joel Lochner to participate in the optional twenty year local police and fire retirement system.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 authorizes the city of Amsterdam and the county of Montgomery to allow Joel Lochner, excluded from the following due to an administrative error, to now elect to be covered by the provisions of section 384-d of the retirement and social security law as a Tier 5 member, and shall be entitled to the full rights and benefits associated with coverage under such section, by filling a request to that effect with the state comptroller on or before December 31, 2013.

Section 2 states that all past service costs associated with implementing the provisions in the act shall be borne by the city of Amsterdam and may be amortized over a period of five years.

Section 3 contains the effective date.

JUSTIFICATION:

Each and every police officer in the city of Amsterdam is automatically placed into retirement plan 384-d. Due to an administrative error at the time of hire, Mr. Lochner was mistakenly entered into the 375-1 retirement option. This bill is intended to correct this error, retroactively.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: New bill FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

Increase of $3,600 in the annual contributions of the city of Amsterdam for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2014 and an immediate past service cost of $9,400 born by the city of Amsterdam as a one-time payment which is based on the assumption that payment will be made on February 1, 2014. If the past service cost is amortized over rive years, the past service costs for the first year including interest, would be approximately $2,200.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

This act shall take effect immediately.

Text

STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5676--A
2013-2014 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
June 3, 2013
___________

Introduced by Sen. TKACZYK -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
-- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended
and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to allow Joel Lochner to join the optional twenty year retirement
plan, city of Amsterdam, county of Montgomery
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary,
the city of Amsterdam, in the county of Montgomery, a participating
employer in the New York state and local police and fire retirement
system, which previously elected to offer the optional twenty year
retirement plan, established pursuant to section 384-d of the retirement
and social security law, to police officers employed by such city, is
hereby authorized to make participation in such plan available to Joel
Lochner, a police officer employed by the city of Amsterdam, who, for
reasons not ascribable to his own negligence failed to make a timely
application to participate in such optional twenty year retirement plan.
The city of Amsterdam may so elect by filing with the state comptroller,
on or before December 31, 2013, a resolution of its governing body
together with certification that such police officer did not bar himself
from participation in such retirement plan. Thereafter, Joel Lochner,
may elect to be covered by the provisions of section 384-d of the
retirement and social security law as a Tier 5 member, and shall be
entitled to the full rights and benefits associated with coverage under
such section, by filing a request to that effect with the state comp-
troller on or before December 31, 2013.
S 2. All past service costs associated with implementing the
provisions of this act shall be borne by the city of Amsterdam and may
be amortized over a period of five years.
S 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10547-04-3

S. 5676--A 2
FISCAL NOTE.--This bill will allow the city of Amsterdam to elect to
reopen the provisions of Section 384-d of the Retirement and Social
Security Law for police officer Joel Lochner.
If this bill were enacted, we anticipate that there will be an
increase of approximately $3,600 in the annual contributions of the city
of Amsterdam for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2014.
In addition to the annual contributions discussed above, there will be
an immediate past service cost of approximately $9,400 which would be
borne by the city of Amsterdam as a one-time payment. This estimate is
based on the assumption that payment will be made on February 1, 2014.
If the past service cost is amortized over a period of five (5) years,
the past service costs for the first year including interest, would be
approximately $2,200.
Summary of relevant resources:
Data: March 31, 2012 Actuarial Year End File with distributions of
membership and other statistics displayed in the 2012 Report of the
Actuary and 2012 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report.
Assumptions and Methods: 2010, 2011 and 2012 Annual Report to the
Comptroller on Actuarial Assumptions, Codes Rules and Regulations of the
State of New York: Audit and Control.
Market Assets and GASB Disclosures: March 31, 2012 New York State and
Local Retirement System Financial Statements and Supplementary Informa-
tion.
Valuations of Benefit Liabilities and Actuarial Assets: summarized in
the 2012 Actuarial Valuations report.
I am a member of the American Academy of Actuaries and meet the Quali-
fication Standards to render the actuarial opinion contained herein.
This estimate, dated May 8, 2013 and intended for use only during the
2013 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2013-133, prepared by the
Actuary for the New York State and Local Police and Fire Retirement
System.

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